Tennis: Federer threatens to end his career after surgery

Although Federer did not talk about the end of his career in the one-and-a-half minute message, he admitted: “I’m realistic, don’t get me wrong, I know how difficult the process is at this age.” One week after receiving many good wishes on his 40th birthday, Federer had to report a forced long break following. “I will be walking on crutches for several weeks and I will be ‘out of the game’ for several months,” the Swiss explained.

His knee deteriorated in the turf season and at Wimbledon. After various examinations, it became clear to him that he would not succeed without an operation. The 20-time Grand Slam champion did not say what exactly the injury was. He wanted to recover, and he wanted to be able to walk around later. He added that he wanted to get closer to the rehabilitation center with the aim of staying active on the tour.

Doubts about the return are increasing

Not only will Federer miss the US Open in New York, which begins on August 30, but he will likely also miss the rest of the 2021 season. But will the world number one be able to compete again? Star worthy? When can a return be conceived? Or was it now? Doubts are growing over whether Federer will return to the top of the world. It looks like he wants to torture himself again. It shouldn’t hurt him to dictate when to stop.

However, it is becoming more and more clear that Federer will likely be denied a major finale in his brilliant career. He may have missed his last chance to win a major title in 2019 when he missed two match points against Novak Djokovic in the longest final in Wimbledon history. Federer has targeted everything in his favorite tournament this season after returning in March after more than a year. He had two knee surgeries in 2020.

Federer has played only 13 games this year. Recently, he failed in a realistic manner in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. At least since minute 0:6 in the third set against pole Hubert Hurkacz, it was clear that Federer was going through a tough phase. Then the father of four had to let everything sink in first. He canceled the Tokyo Olympics and waived the start of the North American hard court season.

Djokovic can overtake Federer and Nadal

Spaniard Rafael Nadal is currently injured – and Djokovic is also taking a breather after his disappointment at the Olympics. The Serbian world number one has already announced that he will seek gold again at the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 and will focus on the upcoming US Open. Even in New York, Djokovic could leave rivals Federer and Nadal behind with his 21st Grand Slam title.

Federer’s goal should be to decide for himself when he wants to close his tennis class. He once said a long time ago that he shouldn’t stop being cheesy. But it shouldn’t end up with an injury. But even his biggest fans should have little more than a glimmer of hope for a miracle comeback like 2017. Back then, Federer surprisingly won the Australian Open – and then Wimbledon.